Margaret McCabe and Margaret Nowak
The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of directors of public‐listed Australian companies regarding the role of the independent director and the significance of that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of directors of public‐listed Australian companies regarding the role of the independent director and the significance of that role in relationship to the composition of the board of company directors.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study using a grounded research approach was used and 30 directors of Australian public‐listed companies were interviewed.
Findings
The analysis indicates that participating directors were convinced that a majority of non‐executive directors (NEDs) provided a safeguard for a balance of power in the board/management relationship. The difference between NEDs, who are also independent directors, and NEDs who are not independent, was highlighted as an important distinction. The capacity for board members to think independently was seen to be enhanced, but not necessarily ensured, with majority membership of NEDs. However, a majority of independent minds expressing multiple points of view was perceived to reduce the board room hazard of “group think.”
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted within the context of the preferred model for board composition in Australian public‐listed companies which requires a majority of NEDs.
Originality/value
Conflicting evidence surrounding the claim that a majority of independent members in the board structure contributes to “best pratice governance” makes the paper relevant to governance issues being debated in the global arena.
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Margaret J. Nowak and Steven Ward
Still, (1986) has claimed that representation of women in management is low and has changed little since the late 60s. There may be structural reasons for this, in particular…
Abstract
Still, (1986) has claimed that representation of women in management is low and has changed little since the late 60s. There may be structural reasons for this, in particular concentration of women in a relatively restricted spread of occupations and industries. Perceived lack of long term career commitment by women has also been put forward as a factor (Still, 1986; Rosenfeld, 1979). Interaction will exist between women's human capital investments and career commitment. It is also claimed that women may have lower motivation to succeed and that this could account for their low participation rates in upper management (Albrech, 1978; O'Leary, 1974).
Maureen Bickley and Margaret Nowak
In recent years there has been considerable discussion of and some movement towards, harmonisation of governance structures and processes between the EU and North America in…
Abstract
In recent years there has been considerable discussion of and some movement towards, harmonisation of governance structures and processes between the EU and North America in particular. Multilateral organisations (i.e. World Bank), the USA's Sarbanes Oxley and the expansion of the EU in 2004 have all provided added impetus for a broader focus on harmonisation or convergence. But is convergence possible? Can any ‘one size fits all’ approach to governance be consistent with divergent national legal and cultural systems? A qualitative study of Austrian company directors is used to investigate whether the recent development of a more open economy coupled with the global capital market is generating a convergent model of director conduct. It was apparent that a stakeholder approach, where stewardship theory best explains the processes to mediate director conduct, continues to best describe the Austrian way. This contrasts with ‘theory in use’ in Anglo-American practice which conforms to the tenets of Agency Theory. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for sustainability management.
Therese Jefferson, Des Klass, Linley Lord, Margaret Nowak and Gail Thomas
Leadership studies which focus on categorising leadership styles have been critiqued for failure to consider the lived experience of leadership. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Leadership studies which focus on categorising leadership styles have been critiqued for failure to consider the lived experience of leadership. The purpose of this paper is to use the framework of Jepson’s model of contextual dynamics to explore whether this framework assists understanding of the “how and why” of lived leadership experience within the nursing profession.
Design/methodology/approach
Themes for a purposeful literature search and review, having regard to the Jepson model, are drawn from the contemporary and dynamic context of nursing. Government reports, coupled with preliminary interviews with a nurse leadership team, guided selection of contextual issues.
Findings
The contextual interactions arising from managerialism, existing hierarchical models of leadership and increasing knowledge work provided insights into leadership experience in nursing, in the contexts of professional identity and changing educational and generational profiles of nurses. The authors conclude that employing a contextual frame provides insights in studying leadership experience. The author propose additions to the cultural and institutional dimensions of Jepson’s model.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for structuring and communicating key roles and policies relevant to nursing leadership. These include the need to: address perceptions around the legitimacy of current nursing leaders to provide clinical leadership; modify hierarchical models of nursing leadership; address implications of the role of the knowledge workers.
Originality/value
Observing nursing leadership through the lens of Jepson’s model of contextual dynamics confirms that this is an important way of exploring how leadership is enacted. The authors found, however, the model also provided a useful frame for considering the experience and understanding of leadership by those to be led.
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Rebecca G. Smith and Joseph Tse-Hei Lee
The five-decade-long Chinese colonialization of Tibet has led to a refugee flow. No longer confined to the Tibetan Plateau, Tibetans are scattered over the world, placing deep…
Abstract
Purpose
The five-decade-long Chinese colonialization of Tibet has led to a refugee flow. No longer confined to the Tibetan Plateau, Tibetans are scattered over the world, placing deep roots in host nations, in cities stretching from Oslo to New York City. Faced with new ideas, cultures and ways of life, diasporic Tibetans confront the same challenges as countless refugees before them. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efforts of Tibetan New Yorkers to preserve their language and culture. To what extent should they integrate themselves into host countries? What mechanisms could they use to hold onto their native heritage without isolating themselves in a foreign environment? How should they construct new diasporic identities and reconcile such efforts with their ongoing political struggles?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on documentary sources and interviews to examine the ways in which diasporic Tibetans understood and portrayed the conventional categories of language, cultural heritage and religion, especially with respect to the Tibetan Government-in-exile in India, and in which they maintained and reinvented their linguistic and cultural heritage in the cosmopolitan environment of New York City.
Findings
There is a gradual process of identity formation among Tibetan New Yorkers. While exiled Tibetans are asserting their agency to reinvent a new sense of belonging to America, they still hold onto the regional identity of their family households. Meanwhile, the US-born younger generations strengthen their ties with the larger Tibetan diaspora through community events, socio-cultural activism and electronic media.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the small sample size, this study presents the first investigation of the Tibetan New Yorkers, and it provides an insider’s perspective on the efforts to preserve their native heritage in a globalized environment.
Practical implications
This study is a useful case study of the Tibetan diasporas in comparison with other Chinese diasporas in the West and beyond.
Originality/value
This study is the first scholarly investigation of the sociocultural experiences of Tibetan New Yorkers.
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Jo En Yap, Michael B. Beverland and Liliana L. Bove
Purpose – The objectives of this study are to explore how consumers achieve, maintain, and/or regain privacy and to more fully understand the meaning consumers ascribe to…
Abstract
Purpose – The objectives of this study are to explore how consumers achieve, maintain, and/or regain privacy and to more fully understand the meaning consumers ascribe to privacy.
Methodology/approach – Image-elicited depth interviews were conducted on a theoretical sample of 23 informants.
Findings – Consumers are active participants who assert their dominance in the marketplace and resist organizational practices that impinge upon their privacy. Seven categories of privacy management practices were identified: withdraw, defend, feint, neutralize, attack, perception management, and reconcile. The findings also reveal that when informants desire privacy and engage in these practices, they are ultimately in a quest for the meta-goal of sovereignty over their respective personal domains.
Research limitations/implications – This study provides support for and expands upon knowledge of the privacy management practices identified in extant literature, and offers an encompassing conceptualization of privacy as it applies in the context of contemporary consumption.
Social implications – This study may assist policy makers and managers in their efforts to develop appropriate solutions to manage consumers’ privacy concerns and support them in their pursuit of privacy.
Originality/value of the paper – This study injects the voice of the consumer into the privacy debate. A broad theoretical framework for understanding what consumers mean when they talk about privacy and the practices they engage in to “do privacy” is presented. It is hoped that this study provides a basis for managing consumer privacy concerns and future research on the issue so that improved outcomes can be attained for all.
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Donnalyn Pompper, Tugce Ertem Eray, Eric Kwame Adae, Elinam Amevor, Layire Diop and Samantha Nadel
We enjoin stakeholder theory, radical-cultural feminist theory, and critical race theory with critical intersectionality to critique findings which suggest that there still are…
Abstract
We enjoin stakeholder theory, radical-cultural feminist theory, and critical race theory with critical intersectionality to critique findings which suggest that there still are significantly more men than women on nearly every Fortune 500 board of directors, with only six corporations featuring (50-50%) gender equity in 2017. Also, only 4.1% board members are women of color and 9% are men of color. Sixty-five people of color on corporate boards serve on more than one board. This means there are even fewer people of color filling top corporate leadership positions than meets the eye. The proposed alternative course of action is for boards of directors to follow the example of the small handful of peer Fortune 500 corporations that have achieved greater levels of board diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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The purpose of this paper is to offer a broad practitioner’s overview of recent trade union history in the UK, and to investigate organised labour’s prospects in the decades…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer a broad practitioner’s overview of recent trade union history in the UK, and to investigate organised labour’s prospects in the decades ahead.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a review of relevant literature and trade union documentation from the period 1964 to 2014.
Findings
This paper concludes that the past 50 years has been a period of change and turbulence for the movement, and suggests that this is likely to remain the case in the decades to come. Although external political and economic factors will have a significant bearing on unions’ prospects, the paper argues that unions remain powerful agents of change in their own right and that a revival of organised labour is not beyond question.
Originality/value
The paper is written with unique practitioner insight from the UK’s trade union centre.