Robert Gregory and Daniel Zirker
The purpose of this paper is to reconsider, from a historical perspective, New Zealand’s reputation as a country largely without corruption, with particular reference to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reconsider, from a historical perspective, New Zealand’s reputation as a country largely without corruption, with particular reference to the colonial government’s confiscation of Māori land in the 19th century and beyond.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on published historical commentary.
Findings
The findings are that much of the Māori land confiscation was rendered legal for illegitimate purposes, and that the colonial and successive New Zealand governments abrogated the country’s foundational document, the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the colonial government and many Māori chiefs in 1840. Adverse consequences for Māori have been felt to this day, despite the Treaty settlements process that began with the Māori renaissance in the mid-1970s.
Originality/value
The academic analysis of corruption in New Zealand has seldom if ever adopted this historical perspective.
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Phillip Marksberry, Fazleena Badurdeen, Bob Gregory and Ken Kreafle
The purpose of this paper is to analyze Toyota's management directed kaizen activities named Jishuken. Currently, there are many variations in understanding how Toyota develops…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze Toyota's management directed kaizen activities named Jishuken. Currently, there are many variations in understanding how Toyota develops its managers to support daily kaizen, especially when Toyota managers have different levels of understanding of Toyota production system (TPS) and skills essential in applying TPS.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper will study Toyota's Jishuken process in the context of strengthening TPS and analyze both the technical and management aspects of Toyota's Jishuken process.
Findings
When integrated into plant‐wide long‐term continuous improvement, Jishukens can be extremely effective at developing management's ability to conduct and to teach others to conduct daily kaizen and problem solving. This paper shows how Jishukens function within the TPS system to continuously improve managers' understanding of TPS both for their own concrete problem solving and to support manager's roles in communicating, coaching and teaching problem solving to production workers.
Originality/value
Most attempts to imitate Toyota fail because techniques are adopted piecemeal with little understanding of why they exist or what kind of organizational culture is needed to keep them alive. Jishuken serves as an example of a technique which is successful only when embedded within the right organizational culture.
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This paper analyses the role of face-to-face interactions between employees of different firms meeting during work-related visits in fostering skills and generating new productive…
Abstract
This paper analyses the role of face-to-face interactions between employees of different firms meeting during work-related visits in fostering skills and generating new productive knowledge. The analysis is based on primary data collected from 1,982 business visitors to/from Australia. The results suggest that face-to-face interacting can be an effective mechanism to enhance skill formation, as it improves the stock of useful knowledge and offers opportunities to learning to both visiting and visited parties.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes and circumstances of what has become systemic corruption in Vietnam, and the reasons why the moves taken by the regime to combat…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes and circumstances of what has become systemic corruption in Vietnam, and the reasons why the moves taken by the regime to combat it have been largely ineffective so far.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper offers a commentary based on published secondary sources.
Findings
The paper concludes that the immediate prospects for any substantial reduction in the level of corruption in Vietnam appear to be bleak. Endemic corruption, especially in the form of elite rent-seeking, is likely to remain strong. However, the paper sketches two more possible scenarios on anti-corruption prospects in the country for the intermediate future.
Originality/value
The paper relies on secondary sources in providing a macro-level discussion of corruption in Vietnam.