This article focuses on the impact of the Australian Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity) legislation (1986), on women’s employment in the higher education sector…
Abstract
This article focuses on the impact of the Australian Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity) legislation (1986), on women’s employment in the higher education sector. This Act aimed to address the disadvantage faced by women in the workplace. In the academy, this meant that some of the difficulties encountered by women who aspired to careers and senior positions were to be documented and addressed. Fourteen years after its implementation, while there has been a general growth in women’s employment in the sector, there still exists a glass ceiling preventing women in both academic and administrative positions moving into management structures. This article examines some of the issues that have emerged in attempting to create a “level playing field” for women in the academy with regard to supporting promotional opportunities and encouraging a positive and supportive workplace. Strategies for overcoming existing barriers and the importance of future research are emphasised.
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Carolyn Noble and Sharon Moore
This discussion asks why women leaders are, at the beginning of the twenty‐first century, as scarce in the corporate boardrooms and university corridors as they were 30 years ago…
Abstract
Purpose
This discussion asks why women leaders are, at the beginning of the twenty‐first century, as scarce in the corporate boardrooms and university corridors as they were 30 years ago. After nearly three decades of legislative and organisational support for more gender equity and inclusive management practices, the illusive glass ceiling still remains an issue for management policy debate.
Design/methodology/approach
In this discussion the culture of work in the new economy is discussed.
Findings
It seems that the feminist approach calling for equity in public life has lost its currency as new management restructures and workplace changes are again “gender inflicted”.
Originality/value
In the final analysis more research is required where successful women leaders are positioned centre stage so that they stay in the mainstream of paid work and public life, not in the margins.
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Peter J. Frost and Carolyn P. Egri
Having a good idea, product or system is often not enough to ensurethe adoption and diffusion of an innovation. Using an organisationalpower and politics perspective, several…
Abstract
Having a good idea, product or system is often not enough to ensure the adoption and diffusion of an innovation. Using an organisational power and politics perspective, several published accounts of product and administrative innovation are analysed. The interplay of political tactics or games are found to be present at both the observable surface level and the deep structural level of power relationships in all areas of activity – individual, group, organisational and societal. The viability of two overall political influence strategies, “asking for forgiveness” versus “seeking permission” are contrasted in terms of their implications for the eventual success or failure of a proposed product or administrative innovation. Several propositions and future research directions which focus on the political nature and processes of innovation are suggested.
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This is a two-voice autoethnographic dialogue about Rousseau's Confessions and their relevance for the contemporary autoethnograpy. The paper examines the possibility that…
Abstract
This is a two-voice autoethnographic dialogue about Rousseau's Confessions and their relevance for the contemporary autoethnograpy. The paper examines the possibility that Rousseau was not only the creator of modern autobiography but also a forerunner of autoethnography. Many features of the Rousseau's masterpiece are analyzed and systematically compared to our contemporary autoethnographic sensibility: the purposes which brought him to write an outstandingly detailed description of his life; the fact that he acknowledges autobiography as the only source of true knowledge; his obsession for sincerity and his strong will to disclose all the truth about his own life to his readers (included the dreadful things that he did); the authority that he assigned to the readers in deciding about the truthfulness of his tale; his concern for the ethical issues and the care of the others; and the therapeutic value that he recognized to the practice of writing about themselves. In the end, Jean-Jacques was not only extraordinarily able to use his emotions to analyze human nature, but also he was a radical autobiographer at the limits of intransigence. His considerations on the value of autobiography can help us greatly to legitimize contemporary autoethnographic practice.
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Peter J. Frost and Carolyn P. Egri
Having a good idea, product or system is often not enough to ensurethe adoption and diffusion of an innovation. Using an organisationalpower and politics perspective, several…
Abstract
Having a good idea, product or system is often not enough to ensure the adoption and diffusion of an innovation. Using an organisational power and politics perspective, several published accounts of product and administrative innovation are analysed. The interplay of political tactics or games are found to be present at both the observable surface level and the deep structural level of power relationships in all areas of activity – individual, group, organisational and societal. The viability of two overall political influence strategies, “asking for forgiveness” versus “seeking permission” are contrasted in terms of their implications for the eventual success or failure of a proposed product or administrative innovation. Several propositions and future research directions which focus on the political nature and processes of innovation are suggested.
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This paper explores the value of financial statement auditing in the public sector. The study applies theory about auditing from the private sector as well as the public sector to…
Abstract
This paper explores the value of financial statement auditing in the public sector. The study applies theory about auditing from the private sector as well as the public sector to explore ways in which public sector auditing can be expected to be valuable. It shows that there are a number of complementary explanations that can be applied to examine the value of public audit, including agency, signaling, insurance, management control, governance and confirmation explanations. The evidence from research and history is generally consistent with the agency and management control explanations. There is some support for the signaling and insurance explanations, while research evidence suggests that governance has differing impact in the public sector compared to the private. The confirmation hypothesis is also potentially relevant. Reviewing the history of the development of public sector auditing functions shows that at least some developments were consistent with explanations such as agency theory and management control. Auditing in the public sector is an area where more research is valuable. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues for further investigation.
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The management of children′s literature is a search for value andsuitability. Effective policies in library and educational work arebased firmly on knowledge of materials, and on…
Abstract
The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.