Organisational Culture of Construction Joint Ventures: Case Studies in Hong Kong

CIB W112Includes bibliographical references.Culture can be regarded as a system of shared meanings that organises values into mental programmes which guide the behaviours of people within communities – notably, nations and organisations. Organisational culture involves cognition, affect and behaviour and reflects customary thinking, feeling and acting that are attributed to a particular group of people as they learn to cope with their environment. Largely, behaviours of organisations depend on the decisions and business strategies of top management and are greatly influenced by culture. There is a close relationship between the characteristics of organisational culture in a joint venture (JV) organisation and the parent companies; often, the organisational culture of the (most) powerful parent company dominates. That reflection relates to the top management’s strategy and the allocation of authority among JV partners. The two case studies investigate the organisational culture of international JV projects in Hong Kong that pool resources from parents with different cultural backgrounds. One of the case studies compares the JV organizational culture with the parent companies from UK, Hong Kong and mainland China. The organizational cultures of the parent companies are consistent with their own national cultural characteristics but, in the JV where more than one national culture is involved, the JV organizational culture is highly influenced by the dominant national culture of the management team. In the second case study, the project director is seconded from the dominant parent company. That JV exhibits cultural characteristics which show a synergy of elements from the founding parents but with emphasis on the culture of the dominant partner in the JV

Beyond mere deterrence: rethinking criminal justice policies for North Queensland

The role that Townsville plays in the process of developing and implementing criminal justice policies for other regional centres throughout Queensland (and regional Australia generally) cannot be discounted, notwithstanding its relatively small population or even its 'outer regional Australian' status. In fact, Townsville has recently become a crucible for some of the most cutting-edge and substantive developments in criminal justice policy-making in the state. What is particularly noteworthy is that despite the 'popular punitivism' that seems to have dominated this discourse in the political and media spheres, many, if not all, of the policies have eschewed an exclusively deterrent response to crime. This paper will attempt to explain: (l) why criminal justice policy makers should not limit themselves simply to formulating determent measures; (2) why Townsville has, in recent years (2016-18), been such a significant site in relation to developing and implementing municipal and regional criminal justice policies; and (3) what direction the Queensland criminal justice system should take in the foreseeable future

The role of corporate citizenship values in promoting corporate social performance: towards a conceptual model and a research agenda

Performance of corporations, under the stakeholder approach, is not measured in financial terms only; modern corporations have significant responsibilities beyond those to their shareholders. A value‐laden concept such as sustainable construction, which emerges from a multi‐stakeholder perspective, involves participation of the whole supply chain and incorporates the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Creating sustainable habitats has societal as well as economic implications. While the UK government’s Department of Trade and Industry is promoting CSR as a business contribution to sustainable development, many have argued that corporate citizenship takes shape at the point of government failure in the facilitation of citizen’s rights. Recent research demonstrates varying degrees of corporate social performance (CSP) in different sectors and there are differing relationships between CSP and innovation in the real estate and construction sectors. A conceptual model linking corporate citizenship values (CCV) and CSP through corporate behaviour (BCORP) from a CSR and stakeholder theory perspective is developed. The proposed model presents avenues for future research and represents a significant first step towards modelling the important link between CCV and CSP

The role of corporate citizenship values in promoting corporate social performance: towards a conceptual model and a research agenda

Performance of corporations, under the stakeholder approach, is not measured in financial terms only; modern corporations have significant responsibilities beyond those to their shareholders. A value‐laden concept such as sustainable construction, which emerges from a multi‐stakeholder perspective, involves participation of the whole supply chain and incorporates the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Creating sustainable habitats has societal as well as economic implications. While the UK government’s Department of Trade and Industry is promoting CSR as a business contribution to sustainable development, many have argued that corporate citizenship takes shape at the point of government failure in the facilitation of citizen’s rights. Recent research demonstrates varying degrees of corporate social performance (CSP) in different sectors and there are differing relationships between CSP and innovation in the real estate and construction sectors. A conceptual model linking corporate citizenship values (CCV) and CSP through corporate behaviour (BCORP) from a CSR and stakeholder theory perspective is developed. The proposed model presents avenues for future research and represents a significant first step towards modelling the important link between CCV and CSP

Organizational performance: a study of China's large construction state owned enterprises

China's construction state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain tormented by impotent long-term competitiveness and lack of knowledge about how to adapt to the market economy environment. This study investigates the interaction between firms' external environment, internal resources and competences, and organisational performance. By combining industrial/organisational theory and the resource-based view, this research explores the relations between large construction SOEs and their organisational performance under evolving environmental factors. The study uses structural equations modelling of questionnaire survey data to analyse the inter-relationships of the external environment and organisations' resources and competences. Internal resources and competences are important in determining SOEs' organisational performance

Enhancing commitment through work empowerment

Purpose – The research objectives are to investigate the perception of work empowerment of quantity surveyors and to determine whether perceived work empowerment is an antecedent of commitment. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory study amongst quantity surveyors in four different types of construction industry organisations in Hong Kong is conducted. Data are collected by use of established questionnaires, yielding 136 valid responses. Findings – Organisational commitment comprises dimensions of effectiveness and continuance. It is found that when the perception of work empowerment increases, organisational commitment increases accordingly. Work empowerment is related to affective commitment rather than continuance commitment. Professional qualification and nationality are positively correlated with both dimensions of organisational commitment. Chinese chartered quantity surveyors show more commitment to their organisations. Generally, male QS shows less continuance commitment and the longer the QS has worked for the organisation (particularly in consultancy firms), the less continuance commitment one has. Originality/value – The regression analysis supports the relationship of commitment and work empowerment. Work empowerment enhances self-efficacy and, through motivation and commitment, leads to increased performance and effectiveness

Perceptions of status and TMO workgroup cooperation: implications for project governance

Achieving and sustaining the cooperation of individuals with their temporary multi-organization (TMO) workgroups is, arguably, one of the most enduring challenges facing the construction sector. A mediational model connecting pride and self-respect to each of four dimensions of cooperative behaviour-in-role, compliance, extra-role, and deference-is tested in a survey sample of 140 construction professionals in Hong Kong. Bootstrap tests of the indirect effect of pride on cooperative behaviour suggest that self-respect fully mediates the influence of pride on in-role behaviour and compliance behaviour, and partially mediates the influence of pride on extra-role behaviour. The results also suggest that pride has no effect on deference behaviour. While needing corroboration by future research, the findings suggest that viable strategies designed to foster pride and self-respect could engender and sustain cooperation in construction TMO workgroups, and support ongoing efforts to reform construction. The bootstrapping procedures for testing intervening variable models are elaborated in the hope that this will encourage more process analysis research in construction. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Lime roasting of a galena concentrate with subsequent smelting in the blast furnace

Having on hand a quantity of Galena concentrates, which we wished to treat in the blastfurnace accompanied by a usual previous roast, but having no reverberatory furnace, we decided to experiment upon the ore with lime roasting as invented by Savelsbury, to see if it was practicable --page 1

Serious and fatal injuries to infants with discrepant parental explanations: Some assessment and case management issues

The objective of this study was to examine the challenges faced by child protection systems in assessment and case management where babies and infants have received serious and fatal physical injuries in the context of discrepant parent/carer explanations. Thirty-eight case files or review records of children under the age of 2 with serious or fatal physical injuries were examined. Qualitative methods were employed to identify issues relating to types of parent/carer explanations, factors of concern in addition to the injuries and child protection system responses to the families. Findings indicate that the initial safety response by child protection systems to babies with serious injuries with discrepant explanations can be inadequate. Assessment of further risks could be inconsistent, especially in cases where there are few other factors of concern apart from the injury. There is a need for the development in the UK of more systematic decision-making processes to achieve more consistent standards of assessment and case management of high-risk infants and to minimize false-negative and 'More systematic decision-making processes to achieve more consistent standards of assessment and case management' O ur combined experience in child protection practice, management, evaluation and research over more than two decades highlights that there is a particular group of cases that present significant challenges to child protection system