Knowledge management in international development charities

This thesis investigates the effectiveness and potential longevity of Knowledge Management in three international development charities, in order to compare their experiences with the commercial context in which Knowledge Management originated. By this means, the research explores how well, or otherwise, Knowledge Management can be fitted into a different setting. It also throws significant light on the transfer of business practices more generally. Chapter one assesses the evolution of the discipline Knowledge Management. It also provides key information about International Development Charities. Chapter two identifies the theoretical foundations of Knowledge Management as a prescription for organisational effectiveness, together with recommended best practices. Two environmental factors are emphasised: the role of information technology and, given the historic link to Japanese workstyles, ideas about organisational `culture'. In chapter three, the methodology for practical enquiry, derived from organisational system theory, is presented, and the problems in assessing effectiveness are discussed. Chapters four and five provide the substantive outcome of the fieldwork. Patterns that emerge from the data are drawn together in chapter six, highlighting the selective nature of Knowledge Management in application and demonstrating both similarities to and divergences from the original concept. In particular, there are specific challenges posed by the international reach of development charities. The overall conclusions in chapter seven confirm that Knowledge Management undoubtedly chimes with the broad aims of international charities. At the same time, the transferability of Knowledge Management depends crucially upon its adaptability to the organisations' aims, resources, and `culture'. Where it is accepted that knowledge handling is needed to build organisational capacity, then Knowledge Management can provide a framework which, when combined with technological advances, is a tool, rather than the answer, for international charities engaged in the continuing struggle to abolish poverty

Organizational change within charities: Improved performance via introduction of market orientation and other strategic orientations

Market orientation is recognised as the key strategic orientation enabling for-profit organizations to gain improved performance. Adopting such an orientation can also aid nonprofit charities facing pressure to become more businesslike due to increasing competition in the current global environment. Knowledge regarding exactly how charities can change is however highly under-researched. Based upon examination of multiple case studies of charities that underwent organisational change to improve performance, the change management process is analysed using a discourse transformation framework to identify how charity managers successfully introduced new strategic orientations dominated by a market orientation. A checklist is developed that offers nonprofit charity managers valuable insights to assist performance improvement. Few previous papers have studied the process by which management of charities can successfully implement change towards market orientation and aspects of other strategic orientations. The paper also expands the use a discourse transformation in examining the change management process within charities

Integrating Professional Media Practice Into Undergraduate and Postgraduate media courses

This paper presents comparative research recently undertaken across universities and HE institutions in England investigating the extent and effectiveness of involving students in corporate video projects commissioned by ‘real-life’ clients. Increasingly media production departments in HE are requested by in-house departments, external public services authorities, charities and corporate organisations to undertake media productions on their behalf. As the culture of commercial enterprise develops in the sector there is pressure to undertake work of this nature, making additional demands on limited resources. However it can also be seen as an opportunity for staff and students to develop new skills and knowledge. We were interested to uncover the level of this activity, understand some of the tensions that can arise and also propose ideas for improving the management of projects which cross the boundary of enterprise and learning

Charitable giving to humanitarian organizations in Spain

This paper studies influences on private donations in Spain. After surveying economic theory and past empirical findings on charitable behavior, I introduce Spanish microdata from 1992 on giving to humanitarian organizations. Using binary and multinomial logit models, I probe the likelihood of giving to these organizations, as well as that of stating different reasons for not giving. I find that the variable that most strongly predicts giving is income, and that, while most respondents that do not give cite financial reasons, lack of knowledge of the charities better explains low giving among most specific demographic groups. I discuss the implications of these results for public policy and nonprofit management. Classification-JEL : L3.. Nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, Spanish economy.

Identify the HR factors that affect employee turnover in MasterHouse restaurant.

For organisations that seek reduction in employee turnover, it is crucial to identify which specific factors have the greatest impact on the staff turnover rate of the organisation. Similarly, after identifying influencing factors, it is also very important to formulate HR processes and policies based on the actual situation of the organisation. The aim of this research is to identify the HR factors that affect employee turnover rate in MasterHouse restaurant. High employee turnover rate will affect the performance of the organisation’s employees and the decline of daily functions, it will also increase the cost of organisation recruitment on-boarding and training. The purpose of this research is to identify the specific factors that affect employee turnover in MasterHouse and develop a practical plan for MasterHouse restaurant to improve employee loyalty and reduce employee turnover through the organisation’s human resources processes and policies. This research will lead to an understanding of the factors affecting the turnover rate of MasterHouse through secondary research, then researchers will collect data through quantitative research, and develop a strategic plan for MasterHouse to reduce employee turnover. The researcher will use questionnaires to investigate the HR strategies of MasterHouse and employees’ views on MasterHouse current HR process and policies. This research will involve five factors that affect employee turnover rate: Long-term relationships, benchmark, work-life balance, talent management, rewards and motivation. The researcher then connected and compared survey results with information in the literature and developed a practical plan for MasterHouse to reduce employee turnover rate

Keeping profits in New Zealand

The tourism industry is the second biggest for New Zealand and is expected to regain the top spot if current, exponential growth continues. Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as those owned by Expedia Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc. facilitate this boom by encouraging travellers to visit beautiful locations, but are taking huge chunks of this income away from the local Gross-Domestic Product (GDP) in the commission they charge on every night of accommodation booked. One of the largest consumers of New Zealand’s tourism industry is Chinese nationals. This study looks at feasibility of a small player developing an app in a market full of large corporates that are dominating the playing field. The primary research used mixed methods and sought to reach 120 questionnaire respondents and 10 interview participants which uncovered thoughts on stakeholders on either side of the discussion, the China-based potential customers and the New Zealand-based accommodation providers. Preliminary results indicate that Chinese nationals are often likely to conduct thorough research when making decisions about international travel and a large portion are enthused about the prospect of regular international travel. Accommodation providers in New Zealand are rarely hesitant to support a local OTA as they are often frustrated with the poor service received from the large corporates. Developing an app that is based in China and attempts to market the New Zealand tourism industry will be a difficult proposition but is plausible with the implementation of a marketing plan that is strategically thought out

To find a better way of training and development for a small retail business in the health product industry

This research is aimed at finding out how to bring a better training and development process to a small retail business in the health product industry to increase the effectiveness of employees' performance. The study was carried out at Dekang Nutrition Ltd. Currently，it has set up three physical stores in Rototuna, Hamilton. Dekang also has a 300-square-metre warehouse and delivery centre at Te Rapa, and operates two sales platforms online. This research uses qualitative methods. The primary qualitative method that used is interview. The study found out that the type of training needed to be changed, as the current training system is not enough for employees to keep up with rapid changes in the external environment. It also provides an insight into the lack of systematic follow up. The study recommends Dekang to have a mentoring/buddy system for training and to develop an evaluation system for employees to have a clear idea of their own performance in a timely manner. Also, the study recommends that Dekang have a clear career pathway to help employees improve

Measuring level of satisfaction

Customers are the ones to judge their level of satisfaction. Now times have changed and organisations have realized the value of retaining customers. This project is about knowing the level of customer satisfaction in a dairy shop, Melville Price Cutter, situated at 17 Bader Street, Hamilton. The information was gained by doing a survey of 50 customers who came to the dairy. Results obtained from this survey showed that most of the customers visited the dairy twice a week. 35% of the surveyed people were visiting the shop twice a week. When asked why they visit the dairy for shopping, the majority answer was time and location. 40% of the customers thought going to the dairy was time saving or should be very quick. 30% used the dairy for shopping because of its location. Customers preferred the nearest location to shop at a dairy. The results showed that customers who came to the dairy were always in hurry. They did not have time to go to supermarkets, so they expected to get quick service from the dairy. Customer felt happy when they were served quickly and they did not have to be in a queue. They liked deals where they could take advantage of cheap prices

The impact of new reporting requirements on local charities in the Waikato region

Charities play a significant role in society. Over 27,000 charities work in New Zealand for the welfare of the community. Prior to 2015, there was no mandatory requirements for financial reporting; however, some charities used “the for-profits standards”. But there was evidence of poor accounting standards. Since 2015, there was a significant change in reporting requirements issued by XRB. The main purpose of new reporting standards was to improve transparency, accountability and public trust. The new accounting standards brought more transparency and disclosure of non-financial information. There were a few negative impacts of this new regime as charities had insufficient knowledge about new standards, which resulted in deficient quality of reports. This research seeks to investigate the impacts of new reporting requirements on local charities in the Waikato Region. The method carried out for the research was semi-structured interviews. Under this method the accountants of three different charities in the Waikato Region were interviewed. The findings of the study were arrived at based on the analysis conducted. Some of major findings of the study criticised the new changes as they increased the workload of charities and created other related issues. There were some issues related to revenue recognition, and the outcomes were long term. It was a mixed review by the charities on the effectiveness of the “Charity Services”. The study concluded that the aim of new regime was for increased accountability, which may not have eventuated, as according to the research the charities instead face issues of workload, outcomes and revenue recognition

Optimisation of operations of wet vacuuming the carpets in Spotless services

The research topic, Optimisation of operations of wet vacuuming the carpets in Spotless cleaning services, was chosen by analysing problems in the operations of the organisation. Mixed methods involving survey and an interview, were used in the research. The survey was taken with thirty workers from the organisation, and the supervisor was interviewed. From the results, the findings are: • The machine is hard to pull and handle during the work • Time allotted to employees is insufficient to complete the work • Time allotment is a challenge for the supervisor • Safety & PPE measures needs to be increased Solutions for the problem faced by the organisation are: follow-up / refresher training programmes need to conducted: an upgrade to easy-to-use machines that will help the workers to do the work within the given time. If the organisation follows the recommendations it will help the company to optimise wet vacuuming service operations