The paper builds on a four-year empirical study of 11 of Australia's high-performance organisations that identified their key characteristics for success. Following widespread…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper builds on a four-year empirical study of 11 of Australia's high-performance organisations that identified their key characteristics for success. Following widespread interest in this study, the author has been challenged by industry practitioners to develop a methodology that would allow them to assess their organisation's performance against that of the winning organisations in the original study. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology and summarise techniques to analyse and map the data. It also discusses how the findings should generate more effective change management programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire focusing on 90 critical success factors has been integrated into an online diagnostic system for use at all levels of the organisation. Both qualitative and quantitative responses can be collected and decision makers can choose several reporting formats to summarise the data.
Findings
Effective methods to design the assessment projects and customise the diagnostic tools for organisations from several industries have been developed. Some initial trials and preliminary trends from the diagnostics are now beginning to emerge. These demonstrate the benefits of defining opportunity gaps which can be estimated based on feedback on both performance and importance criteria.
Originality/value
This innovative approach to benchmarking against a proven and practical model for business excellence provides robust and clear operational and strategic opportunities for business improvement. These opportunities form the basis for a strategic change management plan that is more focused and relevant to the unique challenges facing the enterprise.
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The purpose of this paper is to show how decision makers in organizations can emulate the practices of winning organisations and in so doing, improve their own managerial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how decision makers in organizations can emulate the practices of winning organisations and in so doing, improve their own managerial practices. The paper draws on a four‐year empirical study of 11 of Australia's high performing organisations that identified their winning characteristics over a 25 year period. The detailed research outcomes have been published in 2007 in a book titled The First X1: Winning Organisations in Australia and are summarised as a Winning Framework with nine key elements for long‐term success. More recently, the author has been part of a team that has developed a sophisticated web‐based diagnostic survey, the purpose of which is to allow decision makers to benchmark their organisational performance against the best practices identified in the original research.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved designing a series of 90 questions based on the Winning Framework and building an online diagnostic system for gathering and analysing data for benchmarking studies by organisations in a wide range of industry sectors.
Findings
Concepts for conducting the survey in medium to large organisations are discussed and some initial results and case studies from trials of the survey instruments are also presented. The most valuable reporting techniques appear to be an organisational wide radar map, performance ranges and averages and detailed analysis from different organisational levels.
Originality/value
Feedback from senior executives indicates that the holistic nature of the survey and the benchmarking process, coupled with the range of alternatives to analyse and display the results, provide unique and valuable insights into those operational and management opportunities that should accelerate their journey towards organisational excellence.
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Several studies on high performing organizations in the US have strongly influenced management thinking about excellence in Australia. This paper challenges these studies and…
Abstract
Purpose
Several studies on high performing organizations in the US have strongly influenced management thinking about excellence in Australia. This paper challenges these studies and summarizes the results of a major four year empirical research project to define the unique attributes and key practices of 11 of Australia's long‐term high performing organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Over 1,000 senior executives were surveyed to nominate these winning organizations. Success was defined as taking a balanced scorecard perspective coupled with long‐term growth, innovation and productivity issues. Following detailed analysis, the final number of organizations was narrowed to eleven and their performance studied in depth over a 25‐year period from 1982 to 2007.
Findings
Nine best practice elements have been identified from the eleven organizations: effective execution, perfect alignment, adapting rapidly, clear and fuzzy strategy, leadership not leaders, looking out and looking in, right people, managing the downside and balancing everything. This paper discusses these elements in detail and presents them as a “winning wheel” framework for achieving sustainable organizational excellence. It highlights the importance of effective execution and leadership as key characteristics of winning organizations.
Originality/value
The principles identified from this research provide leaders and leadership teams with practical ideas and a model for improving their organizational practices and consequently their organization's performance. The framework can be applied to organizations of all types including listed, private, not‐for‐profit and public sector.
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Earlier research by the author defined the practices of 11 of Australia's long‐term high performing organisations over the 25 year period from 1982 to 2007. It highlighted the…
Abstract
Purpose
Earlier research by the author defined the practices of 11 of Australia's long‐term high performing organisations over the 25 year period from 1982 to 2007. It highlighted the importance of effective execution and leadership as key characteristics of these winning organisations. This paper aims to build on these findings by exploring the detailed concepts that organisations of all types can use to more effectively execute their strategic plans.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved a survey of over 1,000 senior executives to identify these winning organisations followed by in‐depth research and company interviews. These investigations also exposed some of the tools and techniques being applied to effectively execute strategic plans and these insights are used as the platform for this paper.
Findings
Being a winning organisation in Australia has little to do with charismatic leaders, seeking great breakthrough ideas, rolling out precise mission statements or creating the perfect organisational structure. The key findings can be summarised in a winning framework that identifies effective execution of plans and strategies as the pivotal element. The research emphasises the need for balancing strategy formulation with strategy execution and highlights the critical dimensions of focused leadership, visible management systems and use of project management tools and techniques.
Originality/value
The paper provides leaders and leadership teams with some practical tools that will improve execution of their strategic plans and boost their organisation's productivity and business performance.
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Irina Berezinets and Yulia Ilina
This paper aims to deal with the issue of shareholder activism of private equity investors in public companies. The study identifies characteristics of target firms and investors…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to deal with the issue of shareholder activism of private equity investors in public companies. The study identifies characteristics of target firms and investors related to the likelihood of private equity activism. The research also examines whether shareholder activism strategy of private equity investors is associated with the better performance in future and value creation of target firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies econometric modeling to hand-collected data on private equity investments in listed companies, in the form of private investment in public equity and open-market share purchases, from eight Continental Europe’s countries for the period 2005–2014.
Findings
The findings indicate that the probability of shareholder activism is higher if the target firm’s industry corresponds to the private equity investor’s industry specialization, if the private equity firm is older, if the target is larger and the average ownership share purchased by the investor is higher. Conversely, the probability of shareholder activism is lower where a private equity firm invests in the target for the first time. A target firm with an activist investor has poorer operational performance results one year following the investment compared to a target firm with a passive private equity investor.
Research limitations/implications
Results from the analysis of transactions in Continental Europe countries with French and German legal origin may be not generalizable to other markets with the different legal tradition and institutional environment.
Originality/value
This research provides new empirical evidence on private equity activism in listed companies of Continental Europe. By distinguishing between active and passive investments, testing rarely considered characteristics to provide valuable insights and analyzing the effect of activism on the target firm’s performance, the study contributes variously to the still-limited body of literature on private equity activism in public companies with a governance structure based on concentrated ownership. The findings emphasize the relationship between shareholder activism and both target and investor’s characteristics from perspective of mitigating agency problem and value creation in target firms. By simultaneously investigating investments in public companies from several European markets, the study complements empirical evidence mostly obtained from studies of a single national market.
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The purpose of this paper is to report on the under-representation of people with intellectual disability (ID) in Australian building guidelines. It presents a view about causes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the under-representation of people with intellectual disability (ID) in Australian building guidelines. It presents a view about causes of this under-representation and offers opinion about the current status and future actions required to redress the situation.
Design/methodology/approach
Electronic databases were searched to determine the extent of research about building access by people with ID and for references to both the historical treatment of people with ID and the nature of ID itself.
Findings
The paper suggests the recently released Disability (Access to Premises) Standards and associated building code give no specific attention to the needs of people with ID. It suggests that poor historical treatment combined with difficulties with self-advocacy may have contributed to the lack of attention given to the needs of this building user group. It also suggests the need for evidence-based research to identify and substantiate inclusion of their needs in future building regulation.
Research limitations/implications
There may be unpublished research and/or discussion covering the topic not retrievable through literature searches.
Practical implications
While much has been written about adjustments to provide access for people with physical and sensory disabilities, more attention needs to be paid to the needs of those with ID to avoid inequities in building design.
Originality/value
There is limited reference to building access for people with ID in literature and legislation. This paper adds to the literature and raises awareness of the ongoing need for greater inclusion.
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WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new…
Abstract
WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new constitution, it is the first in which all the sections will be actively engaged. From a membership of eight hundred in 1927 we are, in 1930, within measurable distance of a membership of three thousand; and, although we have not reached that figure by a few hundreds—and those few will be the most difficult to obtain quickly—this is a really memorable achievement. There are certain necessary results of the Association's expansion. In the former days it was possible for every member, if he desired, to attend all the meetings; today parallel meetings are necessary in order to represent all interests, and members must make a selection amongst the good things offered. Large meetings are not entirely desirable; discussion of any effective sort is impossible in them; and the speakers are usually those who always speak, and who possess more nerve than the rest of us. This does not mean that they are not worth a hearing. Nevertheless, seeing that at least 1,000 will be at Cambridge, small sectional meetings in which no one who has anything to say need be afraid of saying it, are an ideal to which we are forced by the growth of our numbers.
MANY and sundry are the worries which fall to the lot of the librarian, and the matter of book‐repair is not the least among them. The very limited book‐fund at the disposal of…
Abstract
MANY and sundry are the worries which fall to the lot of the librarian, and the matter of book‐repair is not the least among them. The very limited book‐fund at the disposal of most public library authorities makes it imperative on the part of the librarian to keep the books in his charge in circulation as long as possible, and to do this at a comparatively small cost, in spite of poor paper, poor binding, careless repairing, and unqualified assistants. This presents a problem which to some extent can be solved by the establishment of a small bindery or repairing department, under the control of an assistant who understands the technique of bookbinding.