Preliminary Investigation Into The Benefits From Investments In Environmental Research: Case Studies on Water Clarity/Quality and The Biological Management of Possums

MoRST is performing an evaluation of the funds invested in environmental research. The two case studies discussed in this paper contribute to the ongoing decision-making about this investment. Substantial funds have been invested in both research programmes identified. Because the main benefits associated with research output are environmental, they are difficult to value monetarily. Preliminary analysis suggests that at a discount rate of 6%, annual future benefit flows of $7 -$10 million will justify the water quality/clarity research. The expenditure on possum biocontrol will be justified if the research generates an annual future benefit flow of $20 million.Cost benefit analysis, returns to research, environmental research, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Operations at risk: 2006 : findings from a survey of enterprise risk in Australia and New Zealand

For more than a decade there has been a steady stream of events to support the thesis that we are now living in what has been termed the Risk Society. Outside of political instability and acts of terrorism and subsequent wars, we have seen a series of depressingly familiar high and low profile corporate failures. That these have all occurred is perhaps no surprise to those of us experienced in business or in the study of organizations. However, given the widespread interest in and upsurge in the use of risk management in organizations, it is distressing that events such as those surrounding Enron, the Australian Wheat Board, and Provincial Financial (NZ) still occur. What was not clear to the authors was exactly where Australia and New Zealand stood in terms of corporate confidence in enterprise risk management systems, and this report marks an attempt to offer an independent bench mark of risk management in the region

Process studies of tourists' decision-making: the riches beyond variance studies

We discuss the paucity of rich decision-making models in tourism. Following a review ofdecision-making approaches, in which we include the emerging paradigm of naturalisticdecision-making, we find that the literature on tourists’ decision-making is dominated by‘variance’ studies of tourists’ decisions by causal analysis of independent variables thatexplain choices by tourists. We contend that this is at odds with the ontology of decisionmakingas a process, a deeper understanding of which may only be generated through processstudies of tourists’ decision-making. This typically involves narrating the emergent actionsand activities by which individual or collective endeavours unfold. We discuss theimplications of this in the context of building and testing naturalistic models and simulationsof tourists’ decision-making.This work is funded under the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology Tourism and Spatial Yield Project

A professional director's view : interview with Kerry McDonald, President of the New Zealand Institute of Directors (2009-2010)

In an interview, Kerry McDonald, president of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, talked about the issues in corporate governance. According to McDonald, from a New Zealand perspective, but also with an eye on the US and UK, and to a lesser extent Australia, for him the overriding issue is that boards and directors are not providing consistently strong leadership that adds value to businesses. The second major issue is weak boards and poor board performance. His view is that the board is a team, and that such teams need to be carefully crafted. A good director must have a very good general knowledge of the business world, strong specific industry knowledge, and a very good skills base, including strategy, risk, judgment about people and decision-making. Good boardroom practice copes with challenges. If you go through cycles and different situations you may put a bit more emphasis on one thing or another, but a good board has a very sound foundation in good practice