Gamification in Higher Education: use of a mobile app as a learning tool (DataBlitz 2015)

DataBlitz on New Pedagogies presented by Dr Grainne Oates. Recorded on 16 October 2015

An investigation into government owned corporatised entities and strategic management of multiple stakeholders in the Australian land development sector

In the context of corporatised government entities where managers are told to operate on commercial principles, and yet undertake some projects that are not profitable, a difficult set of circumstances is created by these seemingly conflicting objectives. There is little information on this phenomenon. In this study I address the lack of knowledge through the lens of stakeholder and institutional theories that form the basis of this study. In Australia, there has been a trend towards reforming the public sector. Corporatising many government departments at all levels has been a major outcome. These entities play a significant, growing, but little understood role in the economy. Some of the many examples of public entities required to carry out these objectives include government owned urban development corporations. The exploration of this phenomenon and some of the difficulties and issues it presents are the focus of this study. The selection of the urban development corporations is salient given the heavy focus on housing affordability and affordable living in Australia today. This research employs qualitative case study methodology. Interviews and focus groups are the selected method of data collection and are supplemented with document analysis. Participants are a purposefully selected group of executive managers from these entities. In addition one Treasury department was selected as representative of all state government Treasury departments. The findings add to the literature and advance theory in a number of ways. The private sector is identified as a very important stakeholder in the public sector. Manipulation as a strategic response to demands from stakeholders exists in the complex relationship between these entities and the private sector. The Oliver (1991) strategic responses to institutional processes model can be extended to include an active and positive strategic response indicating managers at times go 'above and beyond' what is required by stakeholders. Other findings confirm the more attributes a stakeholder possesses the more managers will 'notice' them. This finding concurs with the Mitchell et al (1997) stakeholder typology model. These attributes include power, legitimacy and urgency. However, the type of power whether coercive or symbolic can influence the decision making of managers. Further findings indicate some institutional factors can be more influential than others as predictors of strategic response. The findings also suggest the type of management control system (MCS) in use in the organisation can be predicted from the overall strategic response of management to demands from stakeholders

Exploring the links between stakeholder type, and strategic response to stakeholder and institutional demands in the public sector context

The management of increased numbers of stakeholder groups with increased and conflicting demands requires refined information on who and what really counts to management in terms of these demands from multiple stakeholders. These requirements challenge stakeholder and institutional theory to effectively support the decision making practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine links between stakeholder theory and institutional theory in a way not previously seen in the literature and present new propositions as a potential extension of these theories. The study makes use of the Mitchell et al. (1997) stakeholder typology model and combines it with the Oliver (1991) model which offers a typology of strategic responses to institutional pressures. This is a conceptual paper which employs a literature based analysis and from this generates six new propositions. These propositions can be tested in future research. The main implication is that the paper has the potential to assist managers in dealing with multiple stakeholders’ interests. Several insights are provided for further research and for improvement in current practice

Is lack of funding driving efficiency and innovation? Contemporary practice in government owned entities in Australia

Abstract not available

Including ethics in banking and finance programs: Teaching 'we shouldn't win at any cost'

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has brought to attention malpractices in the banking and finance industry. Given its catastrophic effect on financial services and the real economy, public attention has focused on the deficiencies of this industry. Waves of ethical scandals have overwhelmed the global banking industry highlighting a lack of inte grity. These include the Goldman Sachs fraud trial, JP Morgan’s massive trading loss (related to the “London whale”) and manipulation of LIBOR, along with the collapse of many financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns in the US and the nationalisation of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), among others (Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission 2011; Mackenzie et al. 2012; O'Brien 2012; Baer et al. 2013). Moreover, in Australia, this is further evidenced by the Commonwealth Bank finan cial planning scandal (2014) where planners were accused of investing in high risk products wit hout the knowledge of their clients (Janda 2014). More recently, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a key financial benchmark that is linked to multi-million dollar foreign exchange markets, was found to be manipulated especially in the United Kingdom and United States. Such corruption and misconduct clearly highlights the ethical and moral vacuum in the financial services industry (O'Brien 2014). Such a lack of ethical behaviour certainly warrants educating future gener ations of business students that can induce responsible behaviour. As a result, regulators are keen to address failures in risk culture that stem from ethics in financial organisations (Financial S tability Board 2013). Despite renewed efforts at improving regulation, such ethical scandals continue to prevail

Introduction to Quitch administration

This video runs through the basics of using the Quitch administrative back-end

Is voluntary disclosure of environmental performance associated with actual performance? Evidence from Victorian local governments

This article identifies the level of voluntary disclosure of environmental performance of 76 Victorian local governments in Australia, and examines whether superior environmental performers with higher diversion rates disclose more information on their environmental performance. To better capture the rate of disclosures of environmental commitments of sample city councils, a content analysis index based on the environmental section of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines is developed. The results indicate that the level of environmental disclosure among Victorian local governments is very low, with an average score of only 13.72 out of 100. In addition, the results reveal a positive association between environmental disclosure and underlying environmental performance, as predicted by voluntary disclosure theory.

Corporatised public land development bodies in Australia: who are the stakeholders and why are they important?

Abstract not available